A Toast to St Martirià

Albert Serra

1 APRIL 2024 | DIVIDED PUB LISHING | PAPERBACK ORIGINAL | £11.99 | 978-1-7395161-1-6

Translated by Matthew Tree | Afterword by Alexander García Düttmann

A Toast to St Martirià is an improvised speech given by the cult Catalan filmmaker Albert Serra at the St Martirià fiesta in Banyoles, the town of his birth. Transmitting his subversive attitude and impulsive lust for life, it is a journey through his formative years and early relationships – established in the nightlife of his hometown – that have shaped his unique conception of cinema, art and life.

‘Cinema should be this, making perception of time and space more intense.’

This is Albert Serra in his own words.

The Catalan artist and filmmaker Albert Serra was born in 1975. His films usually depict European myths and literature. In 2001, he co-founded the production company Andergraun Films. His ‘Honor of the Knights’ was selected by Cahiers du Cinéma as one of the ten best films of 2007. For Story of My Death, Serra was awarded the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival in 2013. For The Death of Louis XIV, Serra received the Prix Jean Vigo in 2016. ‘Pacifiction’ was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022. A Toast to St Martirià is his first book printed in English.